As it continues its “transformation to a digitally focused, multiplatform media company,” the New York Times Co. will sell its Regional Media Group to Halifax Media Holdings for US$143 million, the company announced this week.

The Florida-based Halifax is paying cash, and after-tax proceeds from the sale are expected to be about $150 million. The regional group is made up of 16 regional newspapers, including The Gainesville Sun, The Sarasota Herald Tribune and The Tuscaloosa News.

The deal follows the announcement that Times CEO Janet Robinson will leave at the end of the year, but will be paid $4.5 million to continue on as a consultant for 12 months. Chairman and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. will take over Robinson’s role on an interim basis.

Image: The Herald-Tribune, of Sarasota, Florida, is among one of the newspapers being sold.